Head Down

Chapter 1

Yesterday's shopping trip was uneventful.....mostly. On the normal side of things, I discovered that Main Street in Murphy has a few grocers as well as boutiques, restaurants, and furnishing stores. Also the entire town as far as I can see is surrounded by forest. For some reason I like that, who knows why. In fact I've found myself acting and feeling weird ever since I woke up yesterday hence the 'mostly'.

It's not just the woods. My entire time out yesterday I found that I was.....looking, searching for something that I don't know what it is. This was seriously frustrating and so I did my best to ignore it, though I couldn't help but peek in every window I passed while walking on foot, and payed a little less attention to the roads than usual. Other strange behaviors include lack of focus, emotional emptiness other than mild sadness (even when John got pissed off that I was late coming home and slammed me into a wall on the same freaking wrist, I couldn't conjure up the correct emotional response), and insomnia.

I've no idea what's going on, but right now, on the walk to school, seems a nice time to think about it.

Unfortunately, Ive found that while the refreshingly dry road pavement and green woods are uplifting to my spirits, they don't seem to hold many answers. I really do like the scenery here, and the fact that the cracked and faded road I'm walking in the middle of is completely devoid of life helps. I've alway enjoyed solitude, and the deserted environment provides plenty of it.

Truth be told though, I'm not exactly positive where I'm going. I passed the high school yesterday so I do have a vague area to head for, and seeing as how Murphy is so small I figured I could never really be that far off without leaving the town's limits. Even so I left really early, five thirty am, just in case. Te fact that I couldn't sleep last night might've pushed me out the door sooner than necessary, too.

I sigh and grab my right wrist with my left hand -gently thank god because the right is the one John grabbed yesterday morning leaving an incredibly painful and unfortunately obvious bruise- out of habit. I ignore the crazy ache and begin to lightly twist the many small bracelets I have placed there. They're not there to cover the hand shaped bruise, though they do help, but because they always are. The eight bracelets are thin and multicolored (though extremely faded), and the deep blue colored one has a tiny silver wolf hanging from it. The others are just thin string. I've always had them and have always worn them, I can't remember a day I didn't.

Suddenly I rub my wrist just the wrong way, a f I hear a sharp snap similar to the one yesterday, and cry out breathily in pain. I stop walking and examine it carefully. It looks the same until I twist it to the left (with a huge burst of pain, I haven't really been able to move it at all), seeing the side. I realize there the skin is a far deeper purple than the rest and -accompanied by a drop in the pit of my stomach- there's something pushing at the skin from the inside.

Sh*t. I must've broken it. That explains why it hurt so much worse than usual, and the lack of motion.

How am I supposed to write like this? I'm freaking right handed!!

"Suck it up," I tell myself after a moment of debate and begin to walk again.

If I'm right I shouldn't be far from the school.

My handwriting always stunk anyway.

I -very carefully and with an abundant amount of pain- adjust my bracelets to more effectively hide the bruise...

Erm, break.

Stupid freaking John.

Very stupid freaking John.

Incredibly stupid frea-

My thoughts are interrupted by my turning a corner and seeing a big brick building. There's a parking lot out front filled with kids my age talking and laughing and cars (duh). A green banner is draped over the building's double front doors reading: